The Joint Base Lewis-McChord Special Victims Prosecution Team received the 27th annual Lee Ann Miller Award this past Monday evening. Over 1,300 attendees at the Children's Justice Conference at Seattle's Hyatt-Regency witnessed the bestowing of the honor.

"It is a great honor to be recognized," commented Capt. William Lichvar, a special victims' prosecutor.

Miller was a nationally recognized expert in juvenile law in the field of child advocacy while working as an assistant attorney general of Washington state in the late 1980s.

After her passing in 1989, the Lee Ann Miller Award was created to honor the individuals and groups that make significant contributions to the investigations and prosecutions of child abuse and neglect in the state.

"Our team contributed to the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children in the state of Washington," continued Lichvar.

The JBLM team is comprised of two paralegals, one special victim witness liaison, and two special victim prosecutors.

The call for JBLM's Special Victims Prosecution Team's recognition came from the Washington State Children's Justice Task Force (CJTF), a multi-disciplinary group of Washington state professionals involved in all aspects of child welfare.